= The_Power_of

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= The_Power_of_Now =
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Introduction
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'The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment' is a book by
Eckhart Tolle. It is a discussion about how people interact with
themselves and others. The concept of self-reflection and presence in
the moment are presented along with simple exercises for the
achievement of its principles.
Published in the late 1990s, the book was recommended by Oprah Winfrey
and has been translated into 33 languages. As of 2009, it was
estimated that three million copies had been sold in North America.

In the book's introduction the author relates his past experiences of
continuous anxiety with periods of suicidal depression. Later, when he
was 29 years old, he had a personal epiphany and writes: "I heard the
words 'resist nothing' as if spoken inside my chest." He relates that
he felt as if he were falling into a void and afterwards "there was no
more fear."

Philosophical outlook
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The book draws from a variety of spiritual traditions, and one
reviewer described it as "Buddhism mixed with mysticism and a few
references to Jesus Christ, a sort of New Age re-working of Zen." It
uses these traditions to describe a "belief system based on living in
the present moment". Its core message is that people's emotional
problems are rooted in their identification with their minds. The
author writes that an individual should be aware of their present
moment instead of losing themselves in worry and anxiety about the
past or future.

According to the book, only the present moment is real and only the
present moment matters, and both an individual's past and future are
created by their thoughts. The author maintains that people's
insistence that they have control of their life is an illusion "that
only brings pain". The book also describes methods of relaxation and
meditation to help readers anchor themselves in the present. These
suggestions include slowing down by avoiding multi-tasking, spending
time in nature, and letting go of worries about the future. Some of
the concepts contained in 'The Power of Now', such as the human ego
and its negative effects on happiness, are further elaborated in the
author's later books, especially 'A New Earth: Awakening to Your
Life's Purpose' (2005).

Selected chapters
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The chapters of the book are:

Various chapters emphasize the philosophy of dismantling the harmful
dominance of the mind and ego in an effort to overcome the "pain-body"
(see Chapter Two). According to the author, his philosophy is directed
towards people and their search for personal happiness and also has
the potential to give insight into historical disasters like the
justification of what he sees as the evil of capitalism.

Chapter One: "You are not your mind"
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Tolle distinguishes between a person’s thoughts, described as a “voice
in the head” and the person’s true self. He explains that this
"thought-voice" should be recognized as separate from one's authentic
self (this is evident because the real self is aware of the voice's
presence). He argues that this voice - 'the thinker' - is generally a
destructive influence and should be listened to impartially, not
judged. Tolle further argues that people are not their thoughts, but
rather 'the watcher' - the presence that recognizes thoughts. He
claims the same applies to emotions.

The author further writes: "Enlightenment means rising above thought,
not falling back to a level below it, to the level of plants and
animals. In the enlightened state, you still use your thinking mind
when needed, but in a much more focused and effective way than before.
You use it mostly for practical purposes, but you are free of the
involuntary internal dialogue, and there is inner stillness."

Tolle asserts: "The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used
wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive. To put it more
accurately, it is not so much that you use your mind wrongly - you
usually don't use it at all. It uses 'you'. This is the disease. You
believe that you are your mind. This is the delusion. The instrument
has taken you over."

The author goes on to write that "pain is inevitable as long as you
are identified with your mind" and that "many people live with a
tormentor in their head that continuously attacks and punishes them
and drains them of vital energy. It is the cause of untold misery and
unhappiness, as well as of disease."

Chapter Two: "Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain"
===================================================
In Chapter Two, Tolle tells the reader that they must recognize their
personal ego "without the ego creating an antagonistic response to its
own denial or destruction" and explains the purposelessness of the
"mental pain and anguish" that people hold on to.

The concept of the "pain-body" is explained by Tolle as follows: "As
long as you are unable to access the power of the Now, every emotional
pain that you experience leaves behind a residue of pain that lives
on in you. It merges with the pain from the past, which was already
there, and becomes lodged in your mind and body". The resulting
negative energy field is said to be the pain-body. According to the
book: "The pain-body consists of trapped life-energy that has split
off from your total energy field and has temporarily become autonomous
through the unnatural process of mind identification."

The pain-body could, for example, express itself as resentment,
impatience, a dark mood, a desire to harm, as rage or as depression.
The pain-body lives on the fact that we identify with it. Tolle
believes that if we observe the pain-body, it can no longer control
our thinking.

In this chapter the author writes: "Pain can only feed on pain. Pain
cannot feed on joy. It finds it quite indigestible".

Chapter Three: "Moving Deeply Into the Now"
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In Chapter Three, the author writes: "In the normal, mind-identified
or unenlightened state of consciousness, the power and creative
potential that lie concealed in the Now are completely obscured by
psychological time. You cannot find yourself by going into the past.
You can find yourself by coming into the present. Life is now. There
was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be."

Chapter Four: "Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now"
======================================================
In Chapter Four, Tolle says that "tomorrow's bills are not the
problem" and can be a "core delusion" that changes a "mere situation,
event or emotion" into a reason for suffering and unhappiness. The
book also calls "waiting" a "state of mind" that we should snap
ourselves out of.

According to Tolle, there are three ways to deal with a situation. "If
you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy...:
remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally".
In this way, there would be no "psychic pollution".

Later chapters
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In the later chapters, the author writes about a wide range of topics
and explains them from his perspective.

Tolle alleges that everyone has access to a field of pulsating
aliveness and natural goodness that he calls the "inner body". The
inner body is said to be covered up by excessive mental activity, mind
identification and remnants of old emotional pain that first must be
dissolved before gaining access to it.

For a conscious, awakened person, all drama would end, including in
relationships. Life cycles and impermanence are also discussed; there
are times of creativity and energy, and times of letting go and rest.

At the same time, Tolle addresses the difference between men and women
in the awakening process. Women are said to be closer to awakening
than men, because they are less trapped in their minds. This, he
argues, is the reason for the historical suppression of the feminine.
Tolle also writes that the greatest spiritual challenge differs for
men and women: “As a general rule, the major obstacle for men tends to
be the thinking mind, and the major obstacle for women the pain-body,
although in certain individual cases the opposite may be true, and in
others the two factors may be equal.”

Reception
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The book was originally published in 1997 by Namaste Publishing in
Vancouver. It was republished in 1999 by New World Library, and this
edition reached and remained on the 'New York Times' bestseller list
for years afterwards. The book has been translated into 33 languages,
including Arabic.

In 2000, the book was listed as recommended reading in Oprah Winfrey's
'O' magazine and, according to Winfrey, the actress Meg Ryan also
recommended it. A Christian author, Andrew Ryder, wrote a
dissertation saying that "Tolle moves the traditional [Christian]
teaching forward by illustrating how our obsession with the past and
the future ... [prevents] us from giving our full attention to the
present moment." William Bloom, a spokesperson for the holistic,
mind-body-spirit movement in the UK, wrote that "Tolle's approach is
very body aware. He's done it in a nice accessible way for people."

Some reviewers were more critical of the book. According to a review
in the 'Telegraph Herald', the book is not very well-written but
contains some good teachings. Andrea Sachs wrote in 'Time' magazine
that the book is "awash in spiritual mumbo jumbo" and "unhelpful for
those looking for practical advice". An article in 'The Independent'
said that "there is not very much new about 'The Power of Now'" and
described it as "a sort of New Age re-working of Zen."

By celebrities and in popular culture
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When Paris Hilton was incarcerated at the Century Regional Detention
Facility in California in June 2007 she brought with her a copy of
'The Power of Now'. Singer Annie Lennox chose 'The Power of Now' as
one of her "desert island books".

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow listened to the audiobook of 'The Power of
Now' and described herself as an "early adopter". Actress Gillian
Anderson chose 'The Power of Now' as her second book--alongside the
Bible--on a BBC radio show. Actor Jeff Goldblum is a fan of Tolle and
'The Power of Now' is one of his favorite books.

Singer Katy Perry stated that she was inspired to write "This Moment",
a song from her 2013 album 'Prism', after she heard the audiobook of
'The Power of Now'.

In Ruben Fleischer's superhero film 'Venom' (2018), a copy of Tolle's
book 'The Power of Now' can be seen on the nightstand of the main
character, Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy). He listens to the
audiobook to meditate after being infected by the titular symbiote.

Kendrick Lamar references this book throughout his 2022 album 'Mr
Morale & The Big Steppers'.

See also
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* 'Autobiography of a Yogi'
* Mindfulness
* Satipatthana
* 'Be Here Now'

External links
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*[https://www.adphc.gov.ae/-/media/Project/ADPHC/ADPHC/Books-and-Publications/The-Power-of-now-Eng.pdf
PDF file of this book]

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